Lost to Reality
by GaetanDaquin
Summary: Mabel was the girl that loved where she was and knew where she was going, and Dipper was the boy who hated where he was from and was scared to know where he would end up. The mismatched pair stumbled into quiet little Gravity Falls on a summer trip, not expecting much. However, they both found something much different than expected. However, some things weren't meant to be found...
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hey, I'm actually writing again! How weird is that!**

 **I want to thank ChaosInventor and WyvvernTooth for helping me with story ideas in their own unique ways. I can honestly say that this never would have been published without their support and willingness to have me dump plot ideas upon them for opinions. I hope you all enjoy this, as I actually enjoyed writing it.**

 **I also want to say that, even though this isn't the best work out there and the ideas don't exacly stick out from the rest, I really put everything I had into this story. Maybe it isn't all polished and award-winning yet, but it isn't from lack of effort. If you have constructive criticism, please let me hear it, since I want to get better. Please do keep in mind, though, that not everything in a story makes complete sense right away, so you may have a couple questions as we move along. That's okay. I can promise that I'll explain everything in time.**

 **So, what I'm trying to say is... Please help me out and review since I want to get better and I'm complete trash at writing. But please don't flame the story for kicks, or pick on me because I'm not on J.K. Rowling's level yet.**

 **Well... Now that the intro is complete, please give the story a look. Thank you.**

* * *

 _The room was dark and damp, with only a small lamp lighting the entire place. A slow look around showed a row of cells, mold-covered and wet. The prisoner cowered in the back corner of the room shivered as a drop of water hit his skin from the ceiling. Long locks of hair, not cut in such a long time it seemed, brushed against his limbs as he started to move. Goosebumps crept up his clammy skin, hair standing on edge with some deep-rooted fear that the prisoner couldn't place._

 _For the life of him, the shivering man had no idea where he was. Damp clothes clung to his skin, chilling him even further, but he didn't feel as if it would bring his death any closer. It was clear that he had been here a long time, since his hair was far longer than he remembered. However, he was certain he hadn't seen that place before. At the same, though, it also felt oddly familiar. A name was carved into the stone ceiling above him, which he could just make out._

 _Suddenly, the fear increased inside the poor prisoner, before he could properly read the name. It seemed that some part of the man had picked up on something that his ears hadn't. Just a few moments after the dread settled within the lone prisoner's gut, a set of footsteps echoed down the stone hall. The sound bounced up and down against the walls of the silent prison, making it impossible for the cowering prisoner to tell where the sound was coming from. All he could tell was that it seemed to be coming closer and closer to his cell with an almost joyful pace. Soon a shadow cast itself along the wall, flickering like the torch._

 _The prisoner had no chance to glance up and identify the shadow before the heavy iron door of his cell creaked open._

 _"Oh, it seems you are awake. Why don't we get started again, hm?"_

* * *

The bus was eerily quiet, due to lack of passengers. In the last seat, an overweight old woman loomed in her seat. The grumpy scowl on her face traveled up the entire bus, skulking over the town seats and smudged windows. The unsettling aura even reached the only two other passengers in the vehicle, one of which was sitting silently in the front seat. The other child, a girl unlike her brother, was not so silent, and was not effected in the least by the upset woman's horrible mood.

Now, the two twelve-year-olds in the front seat were really something special, even if they did not look like it at first. On the left, leaning against the window and flipping through an old book, was a small boy with expressive brown eyes.. He wasn't the most fancy-dressed person in the world, with old shorts and a t-shirt clearly dug out of the laundry. His hair, though washed that morning, was in a tangled mess of brown curls upon his head that drooped almost messily onto his forehead as well. Although he tried to hide it, the kid looked apprehensive and worried about what was to come. That worry wasn't exactly wrong, either.

The girl next to him, however, was not so gloomy. In fact, she was a complete ray of sunshine that sparkled without hindrance. Even though she was sitting still, the entire aura around the grinning brunette made you feel like she was bouncing up and own excitedly. As she sat, the girl gazed around with her wide eyes, the deep brown seeming to absorb everything in sight. An aimless tune spun around her head as she hummed, occasionally disturbing the boy slouched next to her.

"Hey, Dipper," the girl chirped, cutting into the silence like a knife through butter, "what do you think Grunkle Stan will be like?"

The boy, wrenched out of his thoughts bu his sister's words, offered a frown. "I don't know, Mabel. We've never met him, right? I'm sure he'll be okay. Dad wouldn't have sent us here if he thought that Grunkle Stan was a danger to us. But he never mentioned what he was like, so I have no idea."

The girl, apparently called Mabel, settled back into her seat with a sigh. The ripped seat cover dug into her back through her shirt, and it was acutely painful. However, she didn't dare complain. "I just want to know what he's like. I think he'll be really nice, and great at cooking! Maybe I could get him to teach me how to make Pink Sparkle Cake!" An excited giggle escaped the girl's lips, causing her to hug herself in excitement. The large sleeves of her sweater covered the lower half of her face as she hunched forward, tucking her knees under her arms smoothly.

Dipper turned to face his sister, skepticism and pure judgement settling upon his face. "I don't think so, Mabel," he said flatly, leaving no room for arguments. "He's supposed to be an old guy, so sparkly pink creations are probably not his idea of 'fun'." The boy scoffed, looking away again.

"Yeah, yeah, okay. Maybe it's not. But I bet there are a lot of girls there who will want to bake with me! You could come along, too! It'll be fun!"

"I'll pass," Dipper muttered sullenly, staring out the window with a steadfast gaze. "Hey, Mabel? Why do you think all the fairies left Ireland all those years ago?"

"Huh? Ireland? What's so important about that, Dip-Dop? Is this about that new book you got?With all the grizzly dragons and gargoyles!" The girl wiggled her arms for an added effect. Much to the boy's annoyance, her painstakingly-manicured hands waved cheerfully right in front of his face, occasionally grazing his nose.

"They aren't 'grizzly dragons', Mabel," Dipper scolded. As he spoke, his hand reached up to gently guide hers down and away from his face. "They're fire-breathing dragons that were heavily based out of England and other Western countries for some time. That book is actually a really useful resource! It has all sorts of information about creatures from all different cultures, and even how they could apply to the 'natural world'. If you look at the science shown inside it, it's possible that these sorts of creatures could actually exist! They only thing that it doesn't explain, though is where all these creatures went. there are tales about Irish fairies going 'underground' into the hillside, or just a large hill. But the wording is really fluid and up to interpretation. In fact, the Fae-folk may not be underground at a-"

"Okay, okay, Dipper!" Mabel cut into Dipper's excited rant with a disinterested laugh. "I know all you want to do is focus on your nerdy stuff. Maybe we'll have more stuff to do together here, you know? Especially since mom made you leave all your nerd-books at home." The grinning brunette reached over to her brother, cheerfully poking at his cheek. He didn't find it nearly as amusing as the girl did, however.

"They aren't nerd books, Mabel," the boy protested. His cheeks puffed out into a childish pout, seeming even more immature with the way he crossed his arms like a spoiled toddler. "They're actually quite fascinating! You just have to read them closely, that's all!" Every few words of his speech were accompanied by an attempt to swat the incoming finger away from him. However, it was al to no avail. Finally, the poor boy had taken enough of the unwanted invasion of his personal bubble.

"Would you stop it, Mabel?!" The boy practically hissed the demand, brown eyes flashing like lighting on a stormy night. "I just want to be left alone, do you always have to be so annoying?"

The angry words cut the boy's sister like a knife. The hurt shone brightly on her face, with her eyes flying wide open and the color fading from her cheeks. The strain of travelling and the other events that had transpired in the pas few days had worn on the young girl, and she was certainly not ready for such an outburst from her own brother. Tears pricked at the corners of her eyes, brought on by shock, confusion and stress.

"I- I'm sorry, Dipper," the girl whispered, looking down. "I didn't mean to be so annoying."

With that, the girl settled back into her seat. The ripped seat cover dug even harder into her back, but she refused to point it out or complain in any way. The optimism she held around her like a cloak was slipping down, revealing the insecure center in the middle of her shell. Instead of the bright, shining optimism of before, a strained and unhappy cloud hung around the usually vibrant girl. Even as it did so, the girl knew that it was likely an overreaction to the situation. However, she couldn't really bring herself to fight the unhappiness, just this one time.

"Oh, come on Mabel," Dipper said pleadingly. His hand went out to rest reassuringly on her arm, but the touch came out as pleading as he felt. "I didn't mean it that way. I was just annoyed, alright? You know I can be a bit of an idiot sometimes." At that he offered an uncertain smile that lit up his face and shone in his eyes.

"Okay, Dipper," Mabel said with a giggle. A small smile slipped onto her lips. After a moment, however, it grew into a great big grin. "I forgive you. Just... Try to be nicer to me in the future, okay?"

"Okay. I'll try to be nicer. Awkward sibling hug?"

"Awkward sibling hug," Mabel agreed, reached over to her brother.

The two met in the middle for a hug where neither was quite sure how affectionate to be, which was often the case for the aforementioned awkward sibling hug. Even while sitting inside a moving vehicle with no seat-belts whatsoever and only being pinned by their own luggage, the two young kids managed to keep the perfect amount of distance between each other while ill maintaining a matter how you looked at it, that was an impressive skill.

After a moment of hugging, the two patted each other on the back in a friendly manner "Pat, pat pat," they said in unison. Each iteration of the word was in perfect sync with the action, which was also a practiced skill. The hug did not last any longer after the trio of pats, and the two quickly separated to sit of their sides of the seats. For a few precious moments, treasured for both the silent bus drier and the grumpy old woman, the entire bus was silent. All there was to hear was the crunching of ties against the road and the low hum of the engine that quickly filed itself away into a collection of background noise. Of course, that wouldn't last very long.

"Hey, Mabel?"

"Yeah, Dipper?"

"What do you think Grunkle Stan is like?"


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Just as a reminder, I do not own anything of Gravity Falls, especially its characters. If I can claim ownership for anything, it would be aspects of the later plot that I cannot actually describe to you at that moment. This is an alternate universe to some degree, and those bits that differ (or should I say... Dipper?) from canon are purely my own. Again, I thank ChaosInventor and WyvvernTooth for inspiration and writing help. As I write this, my dear cousin is withholding a baked good until I write sixty words. So, if the ending of this chapter is a little rushed, it is for the love of a baked good.**

* * *

Gravity Falls, Oregon was a quiet town when it came to news that reached the outside. Nothing seemed too extraordinary about the place, having only a limited amount of crime or scandals that spread somewhere outside the reach of an early grave or a convenient bribe. If anyone would say that the town itself was abnormal, no one on the outside would be inclined to believe it. As for the residents themselves, they would not be able to reply with anything more than a stiff smile and a sharp nod. After all, no one from the outside would believe what they had to say, and they wouldn't survive the telling of it.

The only place in the town where tongues could afford to wag and secrets could afford to spill was Kristy's _,_ a run down little bar that had been there longer than most of the residents, and whose drinks were only proven legal after four years of debate. It was Friday, and the busiest day for the small business. Townsfolk that hadn't been seen in weeks would pull themselves out of their huts and slip into the bar for the weekly special, no matter what mind-numbing substance it contained that week. On bad weeks, where the town had put significant stress on the residents, people would pop in and out of the rickety place all day and well into the night as a celebration of the weekend. That particular week was definitely a bad week.

A beautiful woman by the name of Kristy Evans worked at the counter of the bar, serving up drinks almost before the customer had ordered them. Kristy definitely caught the attention of many customers without even trying, and she didn't bother hiding that her help brought in much more customers than had come in before. Although she had been a wild tomboy as a child, the young Kristy had grown into quite the seductive woman. She was tall, with olive skin and sleek black hair that fell down her back in natural curls. Just a look at her blood red lips, pulled into a small smile, would make many a man's heart skip a beat. Despite having the looks to seduce an army, however, the young woman preferred the latest gossip and town worries to sex.

"Hey Stan," the raven-haired woman called over the early evening crowd, turning towards the door. Her emerald eyes twinkled as a customer slipped in the door, stumbling slightly as he entered into the bar. "Did you hear that Tad's business trip has been extended?"

The man known as Stan wasn't as attractive as the lovely bartender behind the counter. In fact, anyone who claimed such would immediately be taken in for a mental examination. Instead of a young, energetic man walking through the bar, there was an old man with gray hair and thick glasses. A too-wide, sleazy smile slapped was across his face almost permanently as if it was its job to be there. No one in the bar seemed too surprised at the man's presence, merely shaking their heads and returning to their conversations.

"Good morning, Kristy," Stan said with a laugh. "Yeah, I heard about that from Lazy Susan. You have any idea what a guy like that would be doing away from town for so long?"

"I have no idea," the bartender said with a shrug. Despite her casual tone and behavior, worry sparked beneath the surface of her eyes. "But i'm sure everything is fine. I mean, he's the most normal guy around, right? So maybe he just missed his flight."

"Missed his flight? I don't think so. The guys up top have been pretty stirred up recently. Something about a failed experiment, or something. And Tad was acting kinda weird before he left. So..." The man let his words hang in the air for a moment. The true meaning hit home in the heart of the young woman without any additional words needed.

Making sure to seem casual, the raven-haired woman reached for another glass. "Oh, so you think they're trying _that thing_ again?"

"I wouldn't put it past them," interjected another voice from the right of Stan. The newcomer was thin with lanky black hair that was riddled with gray streaks. Black bags hung under her eyes from years of overwork and fear. "Bud has been much more aggravated lately,"she continued in a wavering voice that could barely be heard over the noise. "If they were going to do that again, then it would most likely be today."

All around the bar, clever people with sensitive ears nodded along with the older woman's words. "It makes sense," an elderly old man warbled from his corner. 'They have been a bit shifty lately."

"Oh, right, I just remembered," Kristy chirped, suddenly distracted from the somber conversation. "Hey, Stan, weren't your grand-nephew and niece supposed to be coming to stay with you today?"

* * *

"'The Mystery Shack'? What kind of place is this?" Dipper stood outside an old cabin boldly emblazoned with the words 'Mystery Shack' upon the roof. A calculating look shone on the small boy's face as he stared at the building.

Despite the peaceful look of the clearing surrounding the shack, the actual building seemed to be either an absolute mess, or just a bit creepy. Most of the windows on the house had the shape of a triangle with an eye worked into them, as if it was completely normal. Rather than normal, it made the poor place look like the ideal house for an Illuminati member, or just a believer. On top of that, the entire place looked worn and beaten down by time.

The once-clean porch was dusty, although not so dusty that it was clear that no one went in nor out. The door barely hung on its hinges from the brutish crowds that came in without any regard for the property of another. Stains from grubby hands and dye-filled sweets plagued the wood on the outside of the home, and anything else children could touch. Time had won the war against the old house, even when it still pulled in crowds like a magnet. Looking at the place from that perspective, dipper couldn't help but feel almost pity for the place, even if it wasn't sentient to feel pity for.

"I think it looks great," Mabel chirped optimistically from behind Dipper.

Startled, the boy whipped around to face his sister. Grass was stuck on her sweater and in her hair as she lay on the yard in front of the shack. The grass on either side of her was flattened down, as if the girl had rolled over it for some time. It wouldn't have been out of character for her to do so, Dipper mused. After all, she often acted far younger than she actually was.

"Great?" Dipper decided not to comment on the wild girl's behavior in favor of addressing her delusional words. "It looks about to fall down. I know you're optimistic, Mabel, but look-" As he spoke, Dipper had turned around to face the little wooden house again. However, what he saw stopped him from even completing his thought.

Now Dipper was certain that he was either seeing things or just plain insane. he was certain that he had seen warped wood, chipped paint and crumbling tiles adorning the house. However, there was no such thing on the place that he saw right at the moment. In fact, the wooden structure was positively sparkling. everything was in top shape, and meticulously cleaned. It made no sense how in the world the appearance of a place could change so quickly. however, some part of Diper didn't want to question it. Did it really matter in the long run, anyway?

"Uh... Never mind. I guess it does look nice, Mabel," Dipper conceded. Try though he did, he couldn't keep the shell-shocked tone out of his voice. He wasn't yet that good of an actor.

"It looks so homey! I bet that a lot of cute guys come to shop here! With a trap like this, I'll have a million hot vampire boyfriends!" Mabel laughed out loud almost manically at her statement, something unnameable shining in her eyes. "This is great!"

"Uh... Good luck with that Mabel," the calmer twin said worriedly. The creepy things about cheerful Mabel stopped getting to him, even after twelve years of living together.

"Oh, so you like the old place, huh? I try to keep 'er fixed up!" Suddenly, a third voice had joined the conversation, even though no footsteps preceded the man's entrance. The voice was loud and excited, and definitely that of a man's. Unfortunately, the sudden appearance of the speaker nearly scared the poor boy out of his skin.

With a pounding heart and crawling skin, Dipper whipped around to face the newcomer, eyes wide with fright. "Oh! Um- Um, hello! Who- Who are you again?"

Mabel, not paying attention enough to notice her brother had spoken, bounded up to the man. She barely came up to his waist, but her cheerful nature created an aura that made it seem as if she dwarfed the gray-haired man. Dipper doubted she could even see up to his face, but she didn't seem to care at all. Instead of showing any apprehension, the girl seemed to be familiar with the man. A bright grin lit up her face like the morning sun lit up the sky at the break of dawn.

"Hi Grunkle Stan," she said with a wide grin. "My name is Mabel, and that's my twin brother Dipper! We're your great-niece and nephew, remember? Mom gave me a picture of you, but it was a really, really old one! Look at this!"

The poor man in front of her opened him mouth in response, but didn't get far enough to actually form a single word. His bushy eyebrows had shot up to rest above his thick-rimmed glasses, uncertainty lurking in his expression. Seeming extremely unsettled, the old man finally grabbed the picture out of Mabel's frantically waving hand and held it in front of his face. The man squinted at the picture, holding it even closer to his gaze for inspection. After a mere moment, however, it was roughly shoved right back at Mabel.

"Yeah. Well, that was a long time ago, like you said. Come on kids, let's get inside. Sorry I wasn't here to meet ya. Your room is open for you to dump your stuff."

With that, the man known as Stanford Pines sharply turned on his heel and strode into the immaculately clean Mystery Shack. An excited Mabel quickly followed, dragging her bright pink suitcase behind her. Dipper, however, didn't follow. The boy stood in the wake of his family members, staring blankly at the pair as they went. Behind the blank expression, gears were whirring a mile a minute. It was almost inhuman, the speed that the young boy's mind worked. After all those calculations and double-checks, there was left only one thought in Dipper's mind:

 _Something is going on, and I need to find out what._


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: I really am sorry about the late update. I had the flu for a little while, so I hope you can forgive me.**

 **I would like to apologize for how vicious Mabel is in this chapter. I know that sisters can be overly mean when upset, even though they normally are not that mean, and I know that travel and new surroundings can amplify that exponentially. Those are my reasons for having Mabel be... Not so nice in this chapter.**

* * *

There was something odd going on in the town, and it seemed that this Grunkle Stan wouldn't just reveal it whenever asked. The small town was cloaked in air of mystery and even just a touch of uneasiness, if Dipper was right. Whatever was going on with a shack that changed appearance and a great uncle that appeared out of nowhere, the brunet had made it his business to figure out what. That afternoon, after all the packing was completed and he found a moment to escape to a quiet corner without ears, he said as much to Mabel.

The twins had finally made themselves cozy in their little attic bedroom that afternoon, and every packed belonging was safely put away in its designated place. Dipper had quickly taken the left bed, not wasting a second in throwing his own blankets from home onto the bed. Mabel took the other bed soon after, using tape to stick a variety of posters to the wall. Most of them were kitten-related, but the boy band posters had sneaked their way onto the premises as well. It was while the two twelve-year-olds were sitting on their beds that Dipper decided to bring up the subject.

"Hey, Mabel?" His voice cut into the comfortable silence of the room, distorting it. "Have you noticed anything weird lately? I mean, in the town. You went out this afternoon, right? You have to have noticed something weird."

The words dragged Mabel out of her daydreaming, where she had been staring at the ceiling the a dumbstruck smile on her face. She had jolted to attention with the words. Now sitting up, she looked around wildly for the speaker. It was just her brother, and she seemed to be somewhat disappointed at the discovery. Nonetheless, she made herself stay out of her daydreams and reply to her brother.

"Huh? Sorry, I wasn't listening. Could you repeat that again?"

"Mabel, I asked you if you'd seen anything weird in town. I know something weird is going on here."

"Weird?" The flamboyant girl seemed to almost scoff at the very idea. "Nope! everything has been normal here, Dip-Dop. I know this town is something that you'd come across in your nerd books, but Gravity Falls is completely normal! Come on, can't you just enjoy it without trying to make everything seem different?"

"Mabel, I saw one of the plates _levitate_ in greasy's Diner! Levitate, Mabel! they don't normally do that! Something weird is going on, okay? Are you _sure_ nothing happened today? Please, Mabel. I need to know."

The interrogation was wearing thin on Mabel's patience. The girl sat up even more, swinging her feet over the bed. Annoyance flashed in her eyes, and something pulled her beautiful smile into an ugly frown. "Really, Dipper, there's nothing," she insisted. "Well, something did happen, but not weird! A guy asked me out today! But as usual, you don't care! You just want to sit off in your little land of nerd stuff and books, without spending any time with me! Well, I don't need to spend time with you anymore! Norman and I are going to go out, have a nice time, and spend all our time together! So you don't have to bother me with your silly fantasies anymore!"

Sharp words formed by the frustration over time, compressed and transformed like coal into diamonds, sliced their way through Dipper's shirt and into the tender flesh of his heart. Pain and shock stared back through the window of his copper-colored eyes. Tears threatened to appear at their edges, but sheer will valiantly fought them off. Dipper ducked his head down, his nails digging little holes into his palms. As he stood there, the boy worked hard to steady his breaths. _In, out, in, out,_ he focused, but all for naught. Dipper had begun to reach the end of his rope for one day, despite the guilt that began to pool in his sister's expression.

"Dipper, wait," Mabel cried out. She began to push herself of the bed, sock-clad feet hitting against the wood of the attic floor. "I didn't mean it that way! You're my brother and I love you! We're twins! It's just-" Tears sneaked along with the brunette's words, causing her to choke up as she spoke. However, despite how sincere she seemed to act and sound, she still believed that she had been right to some degree. The fire burning in amber eyes told Dipper about as much.

"It's fine, Mabel. Really," Dipper interrupted. He gave her a smile that was supposed to be carefree and casual, so as to ease his sister's pain. However, a certain tightness nipped at the corners of his eyes and his smile, making the expression seem stiff and far too forced. Before he could stop it, the boy's shoulders had already climbed up to his ears, defending against any more barbed words and hateful opinions. "I shouldn't have expected you to want to spend all your time with me. You're a girl, and want to get out more. I get it. This summer is probably the best chance you'll get of having friends that aren't stuck with me all the time, right? You should take that chance. Have fun on your date. I'm going to go on a walk. I'll be back in time to see you off, though, so don't worry."

Turning away from Mabel was almost easy at that point, although he was not very surprised. He ripped himself away from her gaze and turned towards the door of their bedroom, shadows covering his eyes with their comforting darkness. Slowly, he took a step towards the door, as if waiting for Mabel to grab his arm and make things alright like she always did. When she never came, leaving just became that much easier. Each step to the door loosened the tightness around his heart, and opening it wide melted all of that tension away. Freedom was in his grasp, and he was going to take it.

Dipper walked away from the attic in a daze, eyes glazed over as if he was in a trance. every step just brought the same question surging forth, an angry lion question for its dinner of answers. _'Why'_ , his brain queried, pain lapping at its new wounds. _Why are things turning out like this_? Thankfully for him, the boy was soon to find out why his life had taken the turn it did. Not clearly, and not yet, but soon. Soon he would have those answers, but as of yet he was still oblivious to that fact.

When Dipper's steps finally took him to the gift shop for the Mystery Shack, the small boy started to hesitate. If he ran into Grunkle Stan, there would be nothing but questions. Soos and the odd girl who worked behind the register were also curious types. Leaving through the gift shop door may not have been the best idea, then. It was too risky to run into someone who would make things worse. However, there was no either escape route.

"Woah, kid, what's up with you?" Just as Grunkle Stan's name crossed his mind, so the man appeared before Dipper, seeming far more concerned than expected. "What, did you and Mabel already have an argument?"

"Yeah, we did," Dipper admitted with a shaky smile. "Sorry, Grunkle Stan. We don't usually fight, actually."

"Hey, hey. No sweat, kiddo!" Stan seemed awfully quick to reassure him, Dipper noticed. "If you're going on a walk, make sure to be careful. And stay out of the woods. You never know what will be out there. There've been records of bear attacks lately, you know. So stay close to town, you hear? I can't afford to have you die on your first day here. Your parents will have a fit."

"Oh, really?Okay, I'll keep that in mind. Thanks, Grunkle Stan." The usual sincerity in the thank you had been lost, replaced by sadness and a deep sense of disconnection from the world. Maybe it had always been there, he didn't know. What he did know was that his great uncle most certainly caught the fact that his dampened demeanor had not faded away.

"Hey, kid."

"Yeah, Grunkle Stan?"

"Cheer up a little, would ya? It's summer. Fights like this happen. People come together, and they break up. Especially when it comes to siblings, take it from me. Give it a few hours, and she'll forget what you two were even arguing about. Go out and explore the town, make some friends, and get yourself sick on candy I shouldn't be letting you spend all your allowance on. Then come back, and you two can get right back to where you were before all this. You have my word."

The gruff yet well-meaning words brought a smile to Dipper's face like a ray of sunshine on a particularly cloudy day. "Thanks, Grunkle San," he said, meaning it this time. "I think I'll take your advice. Maybe making a friend or two will actually help me. I never thought of that before. See ya later, Grunkle Stan."

After giving the brief thank you, Dipper nearly ran out the door and onto the yard. the house had felt so confining, especially since he had no idea why it had done what he was certain it had done earlier that day. The freedom of the yard seemed to sink into the boy's very skin, pushing new air into his lungs and adding new spirit into his soul. Even though it was summer, the air was crisp and fresh, still holding onto the last breaths of Spring. Despite his gloomy mood, the small boy could not help but feel rejuvenated by the very atmosphere around the house. In fact, he almost felt cheerful.

As Dipper had walked onto the yard, he had intended to go out into town and meet someone new. He wasn't usually the social type, but he thought it would do him some good, like Grunkle Stan said. The advice had seemed reasonable to some extent. However, a strange sounds cut into the boy's plans, distracting him from the course of action he was going to take. It was a strange sound, one of creaking wood and shifting dirt on a massive scale. Surprise yanked Dipper's gaze to the forest scene behind him, gearing him up for yet another impossible sight that Mabel would probably say was his imagination.

What he saw most certainly surprised him, and had him rethink his expectations of this town. The forest, which had no easy entrance before, seemed to have shifted to make a path just wide enough for a slender adult to pass through. From the looks of the upturned dirt and shaken trees, it was almost as if the trees themselves got up and moved themselves out of the way. Distantly, Dipper remembered his great uncle's warning about going into the woods, since there were bears there. however, if the woods themselves were inviting him in, he didn't see an opening to refuse.

With curious, tentative steps, the small boy entered the gigantic expanse of the forest. Just as he entered, the trees moved back into their original place, as if they had never moved in the first place.

* * *

 _"Welcome back, Mr. Strange. You had suffered quite a dizzy spell when you came back into town, you know. You probably forgot to drink enough water on your way back."_

 _A pudgy man leaned over a raven-haired man as he lay in his hospital bed. The man blinked slowly, confusion etched across his face. "Bud Gleeful?" The name was uttered as a question, the speaker himself seeming incredulous that the other would be there. "I fainted? Is that..."_

 _"Normal? Don't you worry, Mister Strange. It's totally normal. You were coming back from your business trip. I'm sure you were just too busy and forgot to drink enough, what with the weather getting warmer an' all."_

 _"That makes sense," the man called Tad Strange agreed absently. Slowly, a hand reached up to touch his hair. It was cut close to his neck, neat and tidy. For some reason, he expected it to be far longer._

 _"It does, doesn't it? Why don't you take a little rest here, and we'll get you checked out as soon as possible. I know you're the most normal one here, so you won't cause any trouble. But if anything does happen,just holler. We'll be just around the corner."_

 _It's so strange, Tad thought to himself. None of this seems right. I wonder why._

* * *

 **FunFactsWithJJ:**

 **I don't know if it will appear in here, but Bipper [Bill possessing Dipper] is one of my guilty pleasures. I don't know why, but it just is. That and Pirate!Spain are just guilty pleasures I can't place my love of. So, if there end up being inappropriately large amounts of Bipper (I hope I can avoid the temptation), you know why.**


End file.
